William J. Butler

Rolling Stones is a 1916 American drama silent film directed by Dell Henderson.

Based on Shakespeare's play. Petruchio courts the bad-tempered Katharina, and tries to change her aggressive behavior.

During the Civil War a young soldier loses his nerve in battle and runs away to his home to hide; his sister puts on his uniform, takes her brother's place in the battle, and is killed. Their mother, not wanting the shameful truth to become known, closes all the shutters (hence the film's title) and keeps her son's presence a secret for many years, though two boyhood chums stumble upon the truth...

Famous romance writer Hartly Poole retreats to the country for inspiration. There he meets ardent admirer Justina Chaffin, who is about to marry a fortune-hunting scoundrel. After Justina and Hartly fall in love, she discovers her fiancé's deception and flees to Hartly's cottage. Seeing her car parked in front, the sheriff accuses Hartly of abduction, but all is resolved when Justina and Hartly exchange vows.

A woman, driven by envy, is convinced that her husband loves another woman, leading her to a vengeful act that ultimately destroys her own happiness.

After her mother's death, Ruth struggles to support herself as a seamstress. While Ruth delivers shirts to the factory owner, the owner's son steals some money and Ruth is accused of the crime. She flees the ghetto of New York's Lower East Side and hides in the country where she meets a young farmer.

A widower and his two daughters live in the wilds of the north woods. They form the acquaintance of two trappers, Bob Cole and Jim Watson, who hunt in the neighborhood. As fate will have it, both trappers love the same girl, the elder sister, but she loves Bob, while the younger girl is attracted by Jim. The elder girl, however, through a woman's whim, pays marked attention to Jim simply to arouse jealousy in Bob. He, in temper, cannot reason her motive and leaves, so through pique she accepts and marries Jim. Later Bob revisits the place, feeling that the girl loves him best, and tries to induce her to go away with him. He finally succeeds and, as you may imagine, fate brings about justice.

A crime drama in which a police officer does everything possible to help his criminal younger brother.

A young maiden is seduced by a charming traveling peddler who persuades her to steal from her host family in order to repay his gambling debts.

Mrs. Thurston, a socially ambitious widow, is holding one of her famous Bohemian parties. To these functions are invited the leading lights of the several professions, actors, artists, musicians, etc. Surrounded by these men and women of art and letters, she was at first entertained, but they soon palled and bored. On this evening in particular, she is especially possessed of ennui, until the appearance of Raymond Hartley, a wealthy young bachelor, who is introduced into the circle by a newspaper man. An attachment immediately springs up between the widow and Raymond.

As the husband leaves for the lumber regions, his wife gives him a memory message to be opened after his arrival. Attracted by a maid, cherished by the love of two old brothers, he forgets it until sometime later. The message serves its purpose, however, for through it, after a thrilling experience, the maid learns the true value of the man's love, while he in his turn, goes back to his waiting wife and finds there, along with his shame and regeneration, his heart's desire.

In China, before leaving for America, Charlie Lee promises that he will never dishonour his family by cutting his pigtail. Later, as a laundryman in a California mining town, Charlie is tormented by local men but is finally befriended by a young woman and her cowboy sweetheart. One of Charlie’s tormentors is a well-dressed idler and, secretly, a bandit who robs the mail. The cowboy and the bandit become rivals for the girl’s affections. Suspicious of the bandit, Charlie follows him, observes him robbing a mail-carrier, and contrives to capture him, cutting off his pigtail to bind the bandit. Rewarded for the bandit’s capture, but disgraced in his own eyes for dishonouring his family, Charlie gives the cash reward to the young couple and surreptitiously leaves Golden Gulch.

At the death of John Gower, his widow and daughter, Mildred, find themselves with only a few thousand dollars, as the family lived almost up to the limit of Cower's income. Mildred's mother tells her it is necessary that she marry money. Mildred is fond of Stanley Baird, but her hopes in this direction are shattered by the announcement of his engagement to another woman. Mrs. Gower marries Presbury, an elderly man who thinks she is wealthy, and when he learns the truth he begins taunting Mildred until she is willing to do anything to escape from her humiliating position.

An elderly carpenter is told by a doctor that his wife is seriously ill. Soon afterwards, an insensitive shop foreman lays him off from his job because of his age. Unable to find work, and with his wife's condition getting worse, he soon becomes desperate.

An experiment goes wrong and blinds a newly married chemist. The chemist's wife does not want to take on the burden of caring for the blind chemist, and her younger sister take her place.

Wild Flower follows her banished lover, Gray Fox, into the wilderness. Her departure is witnessed by Silver Fawn, who mistakenly thinks Wild Flower is stealing her fiancé. Silver Fawn sets out in pursuit and jealously attacks Wild Flower. They fall into the river but are rescued by Gray Fox.

During the Civil War, a father living in a border state leaves to join the Union Army. After he leaves, Confederate troops forage on his property, where a soldier encounters one of his daughters. The father himself is wounded on a hazardous mission and must run for his life, pursued by Confederate soldiers.

On a whim, a greedy tycoon decides to corner the world market in wheat. This doubles the price of bread, forcing grain producers into charity lines and others further into poverty. The film contrasts the differences between the lives of those who work to grow the wheat and the life of the man who dabbles in its sale for profit.

Two lovers elope and expect to be pursued by her father. But the clever father has tricked them into running off, and celebrates their wedding when they return home.

Annie remains faithful to her husband, Enoch, even though he's been lost at sea for many years. Finally her grown children convince her to marry Philip, her former suitor. Enoch is rescued from the deserted isle where he has been stranded, and returns home. He discovers Annie's new life, and decides not to interrupt her happiness.

A farmer has saved all his life to pay for his daughter's wedding, but when his brother is fired from his job on the oil rig, the wedding must be postponed and the money put to the more pressing need. The farmer, now himself destitute, is forced to put his house up for sale to repay his creditors. Meanwhile, a man from the oil syndicate discovers oil on the farmer's land. Moving quickly, the syndicate tries to buy the farm before the farmer knows what he is selling. -Harpodeon

A young woman becomes infatuated with the leading man of a traveling theatrical troupe. She sneaks away to join him in the next town, but her father forces her to return home...

Thieves decide to steal the money an old miser has hidden away. He refuses to open the safe for them, so they threaten to kill a little girl who lives in his building.

Two creative bums invade a high society gathering by pretending to be rich.

A farmer takes in a young orphan after her mother's death and sends her off to school. After she's grown, he encourages her to consider his younger brother as a husband. When the younger brother proves to be a coward, she chooses the older brother instead.

Edith enters a convent after losing her fiancé to someone else. Years later, Edith finds him again, now poverty-stricken, and secretly helps his family.

A poor girl is secretly in love with a wealthy young planter.

Nell Gordon's father was once a burglar, but he has turned over a new leaf. When he falls ill, however, the burglar's old cronies persuade Nell to help them in a bank robbery, supposedly to raise funds for their sick friend. Nell gets a job in the bank, and learns how to open the safe, but then she falls in love with Jim Brooks, another bank employee, and decides not to help with the robbery after all. The crooks try to force her father to insist, and when he refuses, they shoot him. Seeing their true colors, Nell forms a plan. She agrees to help with the robbery, but in the middle of the heist she calls the sheriff. Of course the story ends with the crooks in jail, and Nell and Jim in love.

STRONGHEART (1914) is a Native American Indian drama. Based on a famous play of the time, the film features an all-star cast. Originally five reels, the film was reissued at three reels in 1916.

Bobby's girlfriend thinks he's a coward when he refuses to fight a gang of toughs after they insult him. But when the gang breaks into his apartment, he fights them off, and wins his girlfriend's respect again.

The children of a household attempt to capture Santa, but they catch something else entirely.

Two spinsters on their way to church, are accosted by a couple of burly tramps. When Mabel is called to the church meeting with her mother, she sends Muggsy a note asking him to meet her after the service so he may walk home with her. Muggsy is there on time, however, the old ladies are afraid to make the return trip unaccompanied. The pastor asks that a man escort them home. Poor Muggsy gets chosen, and when the trio reach the deserted part of the road, the tramps again appear.

In the opening of this subject we find the callow youth as he points towards the city's spires, exclaiming to his dear old mother, "Mother, there in the big city is my sphere. There will I turn the world over." Off he goes cityward, ambitious and presumptuous, and perhaps we may add reckless. Alas, the city's whirl is quite a change from the simple quiet life in the country and the youth falls a victim to the snares that beset the unsophisticated.

A story about a poor young man who falls ill, while his wealthy employer ignores his plight and instead spends lavishly on a pearl necklace for his wife. The poor man recovers with the help of his community, while the rich wife falls ill and dies, the necklace ultimately proving useless

Joseph Graybill, learning that his friends have been making a lot of money in the stock market, takes a flyer himself. However, when a drop in the shares he has bought wipes him out, he breaks into his employer's safe for money to pay for a margin call. Will the thought of his grey-haired mother and the importunities of his co-worker Mabel Normand stop him or will he descend to a life of crime?

A crippled girl marries a fisherman, who also has eyes for the town flirt.

Peggy is a high-spirited young woman from a poor family. One day she catches the eye of a wealthy lord, who proposes marriage and wants to introduce her into his social circle. But complications arise when the lord's nephew also becomes attracted to Peggy.

Edith is a salesgirl in a department store who envys her store-mates, as she views them passing by with their sweethearts, lighthearted and happy. Therefore she feels highly flattered and pleased at the attentions of a traveling repertoire manager who enters the store advertising his show, and presents Edith with two complimentary tickets for that evening's performance. The next day the manager appears again and invites her to take a stroll with him. This is the first attention the poor girl has ever experienced, and when the manager tries to persuade her to go away with him it is a supreme struggle with inclination that prevents her leaving her old folks.

A country girl follows a city suitor, but is left alone and must fend for herself.

Hank (Mack Sennett) loses his girl (Mabel Normand) to another guy (Dell Henderson) so he decides to get even with some hot sauce.

Mr. Jones stays out late playing poker with his buddies. While he's gone, a burglar starts to break into his home. Mr. Jones arrives home just in time to catch him. Instead of calling for the police, he restages the capture in an overdramatic fashion and makes sure his wife sees it. She is so grateful she forgets to be mad at him for staying out so late.

A thin gent in formal wear, amid a club or party, reads a book about primitive man after he's ignored by a pretty lady. We see the book enacted: Weakhands loses his girlfriend to Bruteforce, but chances upon a design for a weapon to vanquish his rival and win her back. His tribe sees this and sets him up as their leader. With the club, he fends off various creatures (a winged lizard, a snake, a dinosaur) and a rival tribe led by Monkeywalk. The women even manage to repel an attack. But the rival tribe discovers the secret of the club themselves, and capture the women. Weakhands, sitting in despair, chances upon a new weapon: the bow and arrow.

A Greek woman marries a struggling sculptor. When he can't support her and their baby, she offers to sell herself as a slave to allow them to buy food.

After the Civil War, an ex-soldier and his family settle in the Dakota Territory. The son quarrels with the father and leaves home. Riding in the hills, he spots a band of Indians attacking a neighboring homestead, and he races back to warn his family as the Indians chase him.

An ambitious race driver who is not allowed to compete decides to outwit his competitors.

The manicure lady spurns the barber and dates a rich cad instead.

A wealthy, callous moneylender finds a terrifying way to learn about money's limitations.

The girl visits the seashore with her uncle and goes bathing with a party of her brother’s friends. The Uncle also takes a dip and is annoyed by the perilous performance of his niece. He orders her from the water and locks her in her room, but her brother releases her. He finally concludes that home is the best place for her, for there she will run no chance of drowning.

Alice has two persistent suitors, one rich, one poor. Each buys her an engagement ring; the rich man pays cash, but the poor man must pay on installments. He has trouble making the payments, but then he's injured in an auto accident and the settlement allows him to pay off the ring and propose to Alice.

A wealthy young athlete comes to the aid of a beautiful heiress, whose fortune is being threatened by two arch villains, The Great Master and Doctor Zulph.

A story of malice, deception, blackmail and pride set in small town America.

When a young girl who has grown up as a music hall entertainer is brought to live in a stodgy New England town, the quiet town life is changed forever.